Benson Boone’s dreams are coming true.
The 23-year-old singer made his Madison Square Garden debut on Friday, September 5, performing a knockout show to a sold-out crowd in New York City during his American Heart World Tour.
“Approximately four years and 172 days ago, I met my manager, and we made a goal that we would play Madison Square Garden someday — 1,633 days ago,” he announced on stage. (But who’s counting?)
Boone then became emotional, his voice cracking as he told the cheering audience, “I cannot tell you how much this means to me. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much. This is going to be the most memorable night of my life.”
And it was.
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Over the next hour and 45 minutes, Boone backflipped his way to rock star status in the same legendary arena that Billy Joel, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Harry Styles and so many other Garden staples have called home.
At one point, Boone even covered a Styles classic, “Sign of the Times,” wowing the audience with his powerhouse vocals as he tried his hand at arguably the most ambitious song in the former One Direction member’s solo catalog. (Other stellar covers on Boone’s tour so far have included Adele’s “When We Were Young,” Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “Shallow” and Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man.”)
@nickhautman @Benson covers “Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles at Madison Square Garden
Boone opened his set with three rollicking tracks from his latest album, American Heart, released in June: “I Wanna Be the One You Call,” “Wanted Man” and “Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else.”
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Throughout the first half of the show, Boone sparkled in light blue pants and a matching sleeveless jacket, which he left unzipped to bare his six-pack abs. He jumped off pianos with ease and floated through MSG on an oversize chandelier that was so high up it could’ve hit the ceiling.
During the second half, Boone looked like Springsteen in his prime in an all-black ensemble consisting of a vest, a tank top and bootcut leather pants as he ran through two of American Heart’s best songs, the title track and “Mr. Electric Blue.” He then closed out the evening with a killer rendition of his biggest hit yet, “Beautiful Things,” before an encore of “Cry,” both from his 2024 debut, Fireworks & Rollerblades.
Not bad for an American Idol dropout, huh?
